2007 ISMS practice prize competition: Special section introduction

We introduce the work of the finalists in the 2007 ISMS Practice Prize Competition, representing the best examples of rigor plus relevance that our profession produces. The winner, describing a collaboration between National Academies Press and a team based at the University of Maryland, involves a sequenced program of research to calibrate price sensitivity of digital media. The other two finalists address a model to optimize the distribution of used cars geographically depending on local conditions, and a model to use price and distribution strategies to improve product profitability of P&G's heavy-duty detergent brands in India.